Ben Spies (11, pictured in 2012 at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix) wants to show doubters in MotoGP that he remains an elite rider in the series.

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Ben Spies has been broken, partially by his own doing, but he's back this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And he's as healthy as he has been in nearly a year.

The story is a familiar one: a wounded athlete mustering the courage to compete before his body was ready. The result of the hasty comeback was a second injury, more pain, another delay and fear that his career might not make another lap.

The saga started with a crash last October in Malaysia. He tore ligaments in his right shoulder. The repair work included taking replacement parts from a cadaver. ...